Taking Over Me
by Zarabeth McGregor
Summary: What if Rei had not killed Jadeite that faithful day? What implication would this have as to the success and failure of the Senshi and Shitennou and their respective missions?
1. Prologue

Taking Over Me

By: Zarabeth McGregor

Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon; this includes the plotline, the characters and the situations. If I did, I wouldn't be writing non-profit fanfiction.

_You took my heartbeat from me,_

_This is the saddest story..._

_What was wrong with my love...?_

Get Along With You

Kelis

* * *

She was just vaguely aware that her life's blood flowed as a steady river, forming a large pool beneath her, its source being a gash in her side, clean and long and quite deep. She struggled to take deep, cleansing breaths, to momentarily try and ignore the pain. Her body protested every attempt, shuddering dangerously before issuing a fresh stream of red, so endless she couldn't help but wonder where it all came from. The floor below her was hard and cold, adding to her discomfort, but in mild comparison to the greater pain of her mortal wound.

From his vantage point a few feet away from her, she looked to be some macabre marionette fallen from grace, carved of the finest ivory, her slender limbs sprawled around her; arms outstretched and reaching for nothing, her long, bare legs unable to provide much modesty, fixed almost unnaturally, curved under and around. Her senshi uniform, looking regal and stately as she had challenged him earlier that evening was now limp and wrinkled around her, almost looking like peasant's garb. Her long, sable locks, blacker than midnight itself, was spread behind and beneath her like a curtain, the darkness contrasting sharply with the pristine white marble floor, much like the growing pool of dark red blood issuing from her.

She heard his slow, deliberate footfalls as he walked towards her and slowly cursed the fact that she was currently immobile. She took a breath, trying to deepen it as her pain had subsided somewhat. All at once, she started to choke and had to issue several barking coughs to clear her throat, the pain starting to rise all the more viciously this time. Her throat was cleared and she tasted blood. She could not do much to prevent it from escaping her lips, as she did not want to swallow it again. It was vaguely noted that there was music still playing, music that had accompanied the dancing and merriment that filled the ballroom only a few hours before. She could still make out the now subdued strains of a singular, haunting violin that would have been used to attend a tango.

His shadow fell over her form.

He stared at her, transfixed by the brutality of her appearance, the rising bruises along her jaw line and cheek discolouring her pale face. Her full red lips were grey and parched, a rivulet of blood, though smaller than the original one flowing gracefully down her neck, to pool at that hollow between her collar bones.

But it was her eyes that caught his full and undivided attention, further punctuated by the violin that was playing on somewhere in the room. Their large, violet depths that were notorious for their almost hypnotic lure were now dead, starting to become slightly glazed. He could tell she was quite unable to see anything at this point in time. But he knew she felt his presence.

The aura that filled the room was deep and intense, so heavy, it was almost tangible. There was a sort of grotesque calm and serenity. They both felt it, these two souls alone together in the vast ballroom, and had felt the urge to do nothing to upset the strange, but no less delicate peace.

Slowly, he kneeled next to her form, careful not to disturb her position. By the grimace on her face, he could tell she was in more than just moderate pain. He picked up her gloved hand and held it in his, feeling the tension in her small hand, a hint at what she might be experiencing physically. Instinctively, she tightened her grip. Her face was still turned from his.

"Kelis..." he whispered, as he stroked her hair gently, unable to feel its softness through his gloves, but taking pleasure in it all the same. He could feel the tension in her hand lessening, but the grip was still strong. She did not answer him; she could not. Drawing breath alone was torture for her; that much was evident. He gazed down at her battered and beaten form, her beauty marred, but somehow not lessened by her beating. He looked at her as she struggled to just breathe, his vision suddenly blurred. She was dying before him and he knew it.

He had done this to her. He was the reason why she lay broken and limp. He had administered every single blow, caused each bruise blooming on her ashen skin. He had used his sword and cut that wound deep in her side.

At this moment he lay completely naked before her; this was the real him. He stripped away the cocky and often intimidating impression he gave the general public, he forgot the bold, and sometimes just plain frightening approach he took with his courtship of her. For this moment, he was just himself, without any fronts or illusions. For the first and last time of his life, he honestly regretted his allegiance to the Dark Kingdom.

She could feel him next to her, she knew exactly where, but she could not see him; her eyesight failed her ages ago, it seemed. But she felt his every movement, almost experienced his every emotion. If frowning didn't cause her so much pain, she would. She seemed to detect sorrow and sadness in him.

He surely didn't seem regretful when he was landing blow after blow onto her a few short minutes ago.

She winced and drew a sharp breath against her will as she felt him reposition her neck onto what seemed to be his lap. His grip on her hand never flattered and his touch against her face was soothing, although she was slowly losing feeling...

He looked down into her lovely face, watched the agony so vividly displayed on her every feature and his heart dipped. He started to stroke her face with his free hand, taking care not to touch any of the more serious bruises and cuts. Her breathing was shallow and rapid. She would not last long.

He knew exactly what he needed to do.

"Kelis..." he whispered her name again and she moaned at the sound of her name on his lips. She loved the way his voice caressed it, played with it, almost taunting her. But there was no taunting tonight. Only pure and exquisite suffering. His grip on her hand tightened to the point of pain.

"Come with me, Kelis," he said, his voice urgent, almost pleading. "You're about to die. If you come with me, I swear, you'll live and I'll never leave your side. I'll never..." he faltered slightly. "I'll never hurt you again."

Her breathing picked up in its quick pace, so now she seemed near to hyperventilation.

"Wha...what...you're..." she could not find the words; her brain was slowing down and it hurt to talk. His grip went even tighter around her hand.

"I'm saying that you should come with me; come over to Dark Kingdom with me."

There. He said it. He had been yearning to ask her this question since the first time he laid eyes on her. Of course, at that time the answer was certain; she was Princess Serenity's guardian. That made in him enemy by default. She would've never agreed and would probably even fry him with her powers on the spot.

But now, things were different. Her very life was ebbing from her with each drop of blood that left her body. She was at her most vulnerable and was undoubtedly scared out of her wits. She could not possibly have any desire to die like this, at the prime of her life; she was just fourteen.

She heard him. She knew that was exactly what he wanted to ask, even before she tried to clarify. The side of Darkness, the very threat that they had been trained to fight against at all costs.

She had paid the ultimate price and she knew it.

They were the chief of all their enemies, from since the time of her mother's mother, when she had guarded Queen Serenity's mother. It had been engrained into her very psyche, her very genetic makeup even before she was born into this world. From the time she could walk, she was trained and taught everything that was felt she would need to know to protect the Princess and to defeat the side of Darkness.

So why did his offer seem so tempting?

He waited for her response, holding her head delicately in his hands, cradling it on his lap. He buried his hand into her thick locks, his other hand still clasped onto hers. Her breathing was so faint he could barely see the rise and fall of her chest.

"Jad...Jadeite..." she tried to talk, but it was proving too much for her.

"Don't talk."

"I...I...w...I...don't...want...wan...to...ooo..." before she could make herself any more coherent, a spasm of pain seized her entire body cruelly, sending tremors through her small frame. She arched her back and managed a short, yet chilling scream, which echoed loudly throughout the vast, empty room, off the marble walls. She was about to die.

"Kelis!" he clutched her hand like it was his very lifeline. And she clutched back.

They stayed like this for an indeterminable amount of time; a few seconds or half and hour, it was impossible to tell.

However, her grip did finally slacken, and her hand fell away from his.

She was gone.

As he felt her grip loosen, he knew. He instinctively knew that this was the end. But this did nothing to lessen the pain he felt. He had killed her. He had caused her slow and agonizing death. And he could've saved her. He could've healed her wounds, made her whole again. And then he could've given her eternal life. They would've been together forever.

If only he hadn't wasted so much time.

All these thoughts filled his head, as well as memories. Memories of first setting his eyes upon her on that blessed day, that very moment changing his life. He knew without a doubt that he would not rest until he possessed her. Until he made her his.

He had, for the first time in his life, fallen in love with someone.

So there he sat, with her lifeless form, cradling her head in his lap, willing himself not to cry. He would not cry, though his felt this loss to the very marrow of his soul. The violin, which had gone entirely unnoticed, now finished its story with a soft, dying note.

He stroked her hair, the only thing about her that was not entirely lifeless. It still had its lustre, it's violet highlights shining and shimmering in the light of the room. His other hand, now freed from its grip trailed the line of her swanlike neck. The tears slowly made their way down his cheeks. He was quite unaware that he was being watched very closely.

"You're a highly interesting person, Jadeite..." came a loudly, mocking voice from some way ahead of him, shattering the atmosphere of loss and regret. He looked up viciously, angry at the one who dared interrupt this moment. Passionate, flaming blue eyes rested upon the stoic, regal frame of the man striding slowly down the grand staircase. He saw the sinister smile curve up the dark-haired man's full lips.

"You tease the girl, taunt her, before you beat her to her very death. And then..." he paused for dramatic effect, a hand sarcastically resting against his cheek in awe, his eyes widened in artificial surprise.

"Then you cry over her corpse," Nephrite ended simply and dryly, his cool green eyes never leaving his partner. He did not know too much about the man kneeling on the floor away from him, cradling a dead girl in his arms as if there was some hope she would come back to life. After all, they had only met a few months ago. And yet, as he looked into the angry blue depths, he identified something else there; pain. Jadeite was suffering emotionally what this girl probably experienced physically during the last pathetic moments of her life. Nephrite had only seen this haunted look once before: in the eyes of his leader just a few minutes before, the man's sword stained magnificently with crimson blood. Nephrite looked away from Jadeite as a mark of respect, making certain he did so in such a way that the mourning man interpreted it as a mocking gesture.

"Then again, beautiful women are a very intriguing weakness..."

* * *

Ah! My first pure Sailor Moon fic chapter written! Yes! I've been waiting two years to do this! First of all, let me thank two very important people: Apsara and Snow Raven. Snow Raven's fic, 'Wings', inspired this idea over a year ago. Apsara's fic 'Change' resurrected it. Both can be found on my favourites page. And these two have helped answer some very important questions that could not be left unanswered if this fic is to be plausible. Thanks again to these two.

So, yes, read and review! Ja!


	2. Chapter 1

Taking Over Me

By: Zarabeth McGregor

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon; this includes the plotline, the characters and the situations. If I did, I wouldn't be writing non-profit fanfiction.

A/N: I figure that the scouts had different names in the Moon Kingdom, so here they are:

Rei: Kelis (Yeah, like the singer...)

Mina: Dionaea (This is one of the names the Greek Goddess of Love Aphrodite is known by)

Lita: Adelita (A nice extension of her name; also the title of a lovely Spanish song)

Ami: Mercedes (Kind of close to the name of her planet)

I'll post them up periodically so y'all won't have a problem remembering.

..._And a song_

_Someone sings_

_Once upon a December..._

Once upon a December

From the movie '_Anastasia'_

Tokyo: 1992 AD 

**Several Millennia after the fall of the Moon Kingdom**

The sun had dipped behind the high-rise buildings of modern Tokyo, colouring the sky in a brilliant collage of oranges, pinks and reds. In the east, the thin sliver of a quarter moon slowly ascended the sky.

The grounds of the Cherry Hill temple were quiet, a gentle breeze causing a slight stir amongst the fallen sakura leaves along the grass. It was past its usual operating hours; no one came to the shrine to worship at night anymore.

Deep within the temple itself, beyond the areas that guests frequented during the daylight hours, where they explored and exclaimed in awe, where tourists snapped photographs to send families and friends back home, was a room. In the middle of this room, a large metal pyre stood, almost as ancient as the building itself, where a large, roaring fire burned, the only light within that section of the temple. Upon the walls, shadows danced and frolicked creating strange, fascinating shapes and forms, almost looking lifelike.

The young priestess of the temple sat before the fire in her work robes, placing majority of her small weight on her stockinged heels, staring intensely at the flames, seeming too unnatural to be real in their great heights and the passions which they burned with.

She sat silently, her large violet eyes fixed onto the fire burning before her thinking, reflecting. Today had been a most interesting day...

**Flashback**

"_Rei!" she was just coming to out of what seemed to be a very long and exhausting sleep. Taking one look around her, at her otherworldly surroundings, she knew immediately that she had no clue as to where she was. _

"_Rei!" the voice called urgently again, jerking her out of the veil of her groggy stupor. Rei looked about her for the voice. Before her was Serena's grey cat, pushing a red pen towards her with a small paw. _

"_Here," she whispered urgently. "Use this and transform!" The cat's eyes were wide and desperate. _

"_Wha..." Rei blinked rapidly. That cat _so _did not just talk to her...she had told her grandfather the incense in the temple was too strong..._

"_Rei!" a blonde girl called out to her. Dressed in a sailor's uniform, with a skirt that made her uniform's own look modest; Rei vaguely wondered what this girl was up to, until it finally occurred to her._

"_Sailor Moon?"_

"_Yes! Use that pen and say 'Mars Power Make up!'" the girl responded in a moment's respite before she joined an unfamiliar blue-haired girl in fending off several fiery orbs. By now, Rei was beyond confused. Was this some sort of warped dream? She _knew _dreams weren't even this warped. Did she somehow get drunk?_

"_Rei!" and the cat spoke to her again. "Transform!" Before she could stare in wonder at the talking cat again, a ball of fire streaked past her face, the scent of singed hair filling the air. And suddenly, everything became clear. _

_She was Sailor Mars. Her fellow scouts were in trouble. _

_Picking up the pen, she held it up in the air, her body upright and shouted with conviction and confidence._

"_Mars Power Make Up!"_

_All of a sudden, she felt flames engulfing her, but far from burning her, they seemed to nurture and protect her, the heat warm and comforting against her body. She felt her clothing peeling slowly from her body, before being replaced with stranger, though somehow familiar garments. Within a few moments, it was all over. She was now prepared to fight._

_From her position, she could see everything much clearer. Sailor Moon and the other girl were trying in vain to fend themselves against strong magical forces constantly being fired at them from a man standing at the far side of the cavern they were in. She turned her attention to him._

_He exuded nothing but pure arrogance. From the sinister smile on his lips, to his cocky and plain overconfident posture, she could see that he felt himself below their powers and prowess. They were a waste of his precious time, whatever that was. _

_She immediately disliked him. She wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk of his lips. _

_He deflected their attacks with a mere flick of a gloved hand, sending more powerful attacks hurtling at them with the other. The girls barely managed to dodge them. He looked bloody well bored. _

"_Come on, girls..." he drawled, his voice haunting with its singsong cadence, like a caress over Rei's skin, into her nerves, down to her soul. "Is this all you can do?"_

"_You've just gotten us warmed up!" Serena shouted, sounding way more confident that she looked. Her costume was burnt and singed in various places. With a shout, she sent another attack through._

"_Moon Tiara Action...TRAP!" she hurtled her tiara at the man, her entire body thrown into the action. It ripped through the air towards him and he did nothing to stop its progress. It started whizzing towards his fine face, causing his blonde hair to ruffle softly. With one fluid movement, he raised a hand and batted the Frisbee/tiara lightly, sending it hurtling away a few feet. _

_But something happened that he did not anticipate. Instead of returning to its owner, the Frisbee started back towards him, before wrapping itself around his arm, then ultimately around his entire body with a shimmery and thin, but obviously strong cord. In little more than a second, he was completely trapped. _

_He looked surprised, even shocked. But only for a fleeting moment. Immediately, the smile was back in place, and his blue eyes were once again cold and mocking. _

"_Oh dear...look what I've gotten myself into..."he simpered. Rei clenched her gloved hand tightly, feeling a surge of fire rush through her body, starting from the soles of her heeled feet, rushing through her very veins. She was sure if she tried, flames would erupt from her very fingertips. Before Serena could start gloating, before Rei knew exactly what she was doing, she ran forward, surprising the scouts, her hands already anticipating her attack._

"_Akuryo..." she started, the tiny parchment between her fingers, her dark eyes focused on the trapped enemy. For the first time, he openly regarded her. His expression was fleeting, but the smile faltered and arrogance was completely gone. But it was back within a few moments. Rei almost thought she imagined it. _

_She raised her hand, taking aim. _

"_Tai..."and suddenly she halted. It only seemed momentary from the view of the others, but for her at least, it was much more significant. They had made eye contact, his blue eyes fixated on hers. And she saw something there, not an emotion, but something specific. A memory._

"..._san!" she let the parchment fly. It sliced through the air, locked onto its target with deadly accuracy. She watched apprehensively, as did the other two scouts. _

_And just before it would've struck him, it veered slightly, so slight, no one else would've noticed at that time except Rei. But the implications of this tiny change in course became glaringly apparent as it bypassed the blond man by a breath, catching a few strands of his light hair. The parchment crashed and burned into the wall directly behind of him. _

_The smile on his face widened. With a small, insignificant movement of his hand, he burned the cords of the Frisbee and it clattered to the ground. He dusted his shoulders off quite haughtily. _

"_Thank you for that little tango, dear hearts. I needed to get my blood flowing..." And with that, he took a single step back into the shadows, blending in with them completely. His eyes had never left hers._

_Rei could do nothing but stare, her mouth wide open in wonderment and awe._

_She rarely missed._

_And never did so intentionally._

End Flashback 

Rei replayed that scene in her mind's eye so many times, she knew it completely be wrote now. And yet, she was nowhere near understanding anything that had happened.

At least with the whole issue of the Sailor Senshi, she would get her explanation from Luna and the others tomorrow.

But she could not understand the _other _part of her current dilemma. She had missed him.

Completely on purpose.

The reasoning behind her split-second decision was what she was trying to divine at the moment, this was why she came to the cleansing fire and the heady incense. If it was one place she could get answers, it was here.

She cleared her mind completely, setting her back straighter. Focusing all her attention on the flames, she started her chant.

"Sun, moon, fire, earth; fire, air, water, rock," she whispered steadily, her slender fingers forming the signs of the various elements as she called them out.

"I am flame, flame is light; I am fire, fire is sight..." she dropped her voice even lower, repeating the words slowly, before quickly picking up her pace. Eventually, she began to feel the effects of her meditation. She was being drawn into the flame.

And quite suddenly, a vision came before her, as plain as day. She saw the cocky, self-assured man as he had been earlier that day, looking regal in the uniform of the ones he served. And his eyes. His blue grey, deep eyes, luring her in completely. He no longer wore the smirk that had so infuriated her. Instead he was calm and almost serene, which served to emphasize his lovely features: the firm, strong jaw and chin, with the high cheek and tempting lips all accented by his evocative, large eyes. He was exquisite, as no earthly man should rightfully be.

He slowly, almost tentatively stretched a gloved hand out to her, the gesture clear in its meaning. He wanted to take her hand him his, to take her with him, wherever it was he was going.

But all she saw presently was his eyes, their story intriguing and beautiful, though she could not quite discern what they were trying to tell her.

And as she gazed into their depths, she hear the distinct singing of a woman, her voice as clear and as lovely as a siren, and just as compelling, accompanied by the music of a well-played lute. Her words were just as enigmatic.

"You don't remember me... 

_But I remember you..."_

And just as suddenly as it came, it left, sending Rei back to reality with a strong, almost physical jolt. She looked around her wildly, panting and suddenly exhausted, trying to reassure herself with her surroundings. She was shaken to the very core of her being. What she just saw was not a passing fancy; that was an authentic vision. She clutched the small necklace at her neck with a trembling hand.

And she was left with even more questions, with almost no answers.

Across the city, in the suburbs outside the business district of Tokyo, she lay in the darkened room. Serena was in the bed above her, sleeping contentedly, her snores making all hope of sleep impossible. She muttered the odd time or two something about cheesecake and an Andrew that Luna had yet to meet. Not that she cared about the young man.

And not that she cared for sleep either.

Today was highly interesting, that was a fact.

The discovery of the newest addition to her team intrigued her for several reasons.

For one, she knew that the senshi had intentionally missed her target. The Senshi Mars never missed.

And she did not even want to wonder why.

Yeah! Another chapter. First of all, let me say thank you for the kind reviews! They're really inspiring.

Secondly, let me point out that I'm not following any one version of Sailor Moon; I'm taking from both the manga and the anime, as well as making up my own thing as I go along. And for any glaringly obvious mistakes I may make, sorry, but the last time I saw Sailor Moon was, what...four years ago? My memory is quite rusty, thank you...

By the way, I am going to change the title of this fic. I did some revision, and figured out where I wanted to take this fic. So, I'm going to re-name it 'Deora ar mo Chroi', Gaelic for 'Tears on my Heart'. This title better represents what I am trying to portray.

But yeah, read and review if you please...


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